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Welcome to Bearlando

Urban bears are enough of a problem in some parts of Orlando that they've spawned their own portmanteau: Bearlando. City residents are dealing with black bears descending upon their communities to rifle through the garbage, take advantage of garden amenities, and more. So how, precisely, do you combat an invasion like this one? It's not like you can ask a bear to leave nicely...

Like many cities, Orlando has been caught in a trap of widening suburbanization, which puts bears and other wildlife under pressure as their habitats shrink and they're forced to go further afield in search of food. In the case of bears, this search poses some obvious risks to residents, who are working with wildlife officials to track the animals and humane relocate them when needed.

But individual residents can also take some measures of their own to make living with bears safer, like hiring Orlando fencing companies to help them reinforce their fences to keep bears out, and working with handymen or carpenters to create a secured area for garbage and compost. Bears are often interested in the garbage because they (usually correctly) hope it contains food, and limiting food sources can make the neighborhood unwelcoming, encouraging the ursine visitors to move along.